The area affected by dry-vegetation fires in the Danube Delta has increased more than threefold over the past decade, the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Administration (ARBDD) said in a release, noting that such actions are illegal.
ARBDD statistical data show that in 2015, 64 fires were recorded within the Reserve, affecting 5,925.3 hectares, while last year the number rose to 146, with a total of 19,026 hectares burned.
"Setting fire to the reeds is prohibited, according to Article 94 of Emergency Ordinance No. 195/2005, as amended by Emergency Ordinance No. 38/2022, so the fires occurring in the Reserve are illegal actions," reads the statement signed by Reserve Governor Bogdan Bulete.
Last year, large-scale operations were carried out in Tulcea County to extinguish vegetation fires in the Delta, with the Delta Emergency Management Inspectorate (ISU) intervening both on water and from the air, using helicopters provided by the General Aviation Inspectorate (IGAv). The most difficult and long-lasting fires occurred in the area of Chilia Veche commune.
According to ARBDD, the largest area affected by fires between 2015 - 2025 was in 2022, when 110 fires burned 22,085.2 hectares.
Burning stubble or reed in protected natural zones is punishable by three months to one year in prison or a criminal fine.
Covering 580,000 hectares, or 2.5% of Romania's territory, the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve is one of the world's largest wetlands - both as a habitat for waterfowl and as the largest continuous reedbed area on the planet. With more than 30 types of ecosystems and over 5,429 identified species of flora and fauna, including 38 new to science, the Reserve is considered a natural gene bank of exceptional value for global natural heritage. Its universal significance was recognized in 1990 through its inclusion in the network of Biosphere Reserves under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program.
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